Table 3.
Association between population density and case definitions of increasing specificity for eosinophilic esophagitis
| Esophageal eosinophiliaa with dysphagia (n=7,128)e |
Esophageal eosinophilia and exclusion of competing conditionsb (n=3,905)e |
Esophageal eosinophilia, exclusions of competing conditions, and eosinophilic microabscesses (n=1,337)e |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population densityc | OR (95% CI) | aORd (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | aORd (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | aORd (95% CI) |
| 0-251 | 1.63 (1.50, 1.76) | 1.59 (1.45, 1.76) | 1.48 (1.33, 1.65) | 1.41 (1.24, 1.60) | 1.53 (1.27, 1.83) | 1.41 (1.14, 1.76) |
| 252-820 | 1.57 (1.45, 1.70) | 1.48 (1.35, 1.61) | 1.48 (1.33, 1.64) | 1.37 (1.21, 1.54) | 1.65 (1.38, 1.97) | 1.54 (1.26, 1.88) |
| 821-1,937 | 1.35 (1.25, 1.47) | 1.26 (1.16, 1.37) | 1.28 (1.15, 1.42) | 1.17 (1.05, 1.31) | 1.45 (1.22, 1.75) | 1.34 (1.11, 1.62) |
| 1,938-3,744 | 1.34 (1.23, 1.45) | 1.26 (1.15, 1.37) | 1.31 (1.18, 1.46) | 1.21 (1.09, 1.35) | 1.37 (1.14, 1.64) | 1.25 (1.04, 1.51) |
| 3,745-144,333 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
| p for trend | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.016 | <0.001 |
a
≥15 eos/hpf
b
Competing conditions for esophageal eosinophilia included reflux/heartburn symptoms, reflux esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus on biopsy, inflammatory bowel disease, and eosinophilic gastroenteritis
c
Persons per square mile
d
Adjusted for age, sex, distance patient traveled to endoscopy site, and the proportion in the population in each zip code that reported White race
e
Number of patients meeting case group definition